The day GTA 6 pre-loading starts, unionizing Rockstar developers will vote on the studio's future

GTA 6 developers at Rockstar Games will begin the vote on the studio's proposed union right as the new Grand Theft Auto lets players start pre-loading the game on PS5 and Xbox Series X.

News of the impending Rockstar union vote comes from Aftermath, which shared a statement from the Independent Workers' union of Great Britain (IWGB), a labor union with widespread reach including a significant presence in games. IWGB has helped Rockstar developers organize their own studio union to bargain for benefits, rights, and protections.

The voting period will run from November 12 through November 26. GTA 6 launches Thursday, November 19, and pre-loading for the hotly anticipated game starts a week earlier. Rumors indicate GTA 6 is a 210GB download on PS5, so pre-loading ought to come in handy.

While the most-anticipated game of all time is devoured by millions players, many of the people who made it will be charting the future of their workplace. If the vote clears, Rockstar will officially be unionized, which would be a major step forward for the already humming labor push in the broader games industry. Just this month, D&D and Magic The Gathering developers unionized.

IWGB Game Workers shared Aftermath's story online. The agreement, if passed, will "grant workers a say over issues including pay and bonuses, overtime, redundancies, flexible working, and generative AI policies," the union reiterates.

"The terms of the recognition deal, agreed upon by workers and management, would give workers a say over topics including pay and bonuses, overtime, redundancies, flexible working arrangements, and generative AI policies," a press release reads (thanks, Rock Paper Shotgun).

Shanti Easton-Steel, a committee member for the Rockstar Game Workers Union, discussed what's being voted on: "When management choices are kept hidden, we can’t properly address issues like the gender pay gap, the uneven and ever-changing policies on overtime pay, or the concerns many co-workers hold around job security post-release."

"This is our moment to secure a window onto the decisions that shape our lives, and a seat at the table to improve them. I’m immensely proud of the games Rockstar gives its fans – I want to be equally proud of the voice Rockstar gives its staff," Easton-Steel adds.

This vote follows a messy and ongoing legal dispute over Rockstar staff, including many unionizing staff, who were fired for allegedly leaking "confidential information." Rockstar has repeatedly denied claims of union busting.

Rockstar also has a documented history of crunch, a term often used in game development to describe extended periods of heavy, often under-compensated, and quietly (or loudly) mandated overtime during production – the exact sort of thing that game unions have worked to prevent or control.

Rockstar devs allege crunch is so common at the GTA 6 studio that it's "built into" contracts and you have to "opt out" of it.